Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve in Sicily

I haven’t written much about my trip to Sicily this summer, though I have lots of Sicily posts from last year’s trip. It’s also a special torture for me to write this as the first snow is hitting the ground here in Milan.

Last year, there were many wildfires and so we were unable to go to one of the most beautiful spots on the Sicilian coast, Lo Zingaro Nature Reserve.

Lo Zingaro is on the Castellammare coast and has 7km of coastline which is all unaccessible via roads. Some of the beaches are only accessible via the water, or perhaps in another way like you can see below: by horse.

We had left our horses in our other pants, so we decided to make our way to the first beach, more than 1 kilometer away, on foot. Walking through the tunnel towards the beach. Inside the tunnel there was a traditional Sicilian cart but it was too dark to get a good picture of it.

There are some beautiful views on the walk, especially of the Castellammare coast. In the background, on the other side of those mountains is Palermo.

Getting closer to the closest inlet after the reserve entrance, Cala della Capreria.

A view of Cala della Capreria from above. The place was packed full of people, but it didn’t matter much seeing as how you were in the water most of the time.

If you’re thinking of going to Lo Zingaro, I recommend getting there as early as possible as they often shut down the entrance if there are too many people admitted. Also, if there are high winds or wildfires, they may also stop admitting people for safety reasons (as it happened last year). Wear some decent shoes as you’ll be trekking over a little bit of terrain and definitely bring water and something to eat as there are no services inside the reserve.

Hi Sara. Hello ITALY! My father Ken Freiburger was stationed near Castellemare Del Golfo in WWII. A woman he cared about was there. That area and the Nature Reserve, Zingaro, are exquisite! My heart is in Sicily! I love you. Dedicated to Ken’s grandson.
-Caroline Dewey, of Fort Wayne, Indiana USA
Aug 2011